Being part of the 30% of the population living west of the Mississippi, and unable or unwilling to cross the continent at this time of year, I have been waiting with bated breath to find out what the new product, that was going to solve a decades-old rod building problem turned out to be...
So Expo attendees...
What is it?
Where is it ?
Who has it?
When can I see pictures?
Why do I need it?
How can I get one?

Plenty of people from west of the Mississippi attended. I'll wait a bit and let one of them respond to you about what they felt was the best or most unique product there. Plenty to choose from, although I think two stood out.

...................

There were a lot of unique and new products but for me the new Triangle chuck was ingenious. If you have ever had a rod slip or come out of a chuck on your rod dryer and ruin a nice wrap job this is going to be a game changer. Do not think anyone will want anything else after seeing this. So simple you cannot believe somebody had not thought of this before now. Also the little Blackhole almost UL power blank that could lift a gallon of water without breaking. Blank technology is really on the move again!

A couple of weeks ago Tom said there was a new product that fisherman for years have been looking but had to keep it secret. So what was it Tom??

Any problem with crossing the continent was solved in 1869 with the transcontinental railway! I just took a plane instead though LOL! The chuck was slick! I wish they had been selling them at the show and I would have picked up a couple. Those guys will make a mint. Anyone catch who was going to be the distributor for them?

Got to admit the chuck is a heck of a clever idea and will solve a long standing problem for many rod builders. But for me the two biggest surprises were first the Batson Ent. Eternity blank which was WAY lighter for the stiffness than any other blank I felt there. Light as a feather but really powerful. Beautiful deep blue color too. Second but not least was the Boomerang float retrieval product. That one will probably save thousands of rods all over the world from Davy Jones locker every year. That is something that anyone that has ever lost a rod overboard will understand. It seemed based on the magazine article idea from a few years ago but having it self contained in a butt cap means you never even know its there until you need it. They also have a program aimed at custom rod builders where you list on their website and then when fishermen want to find somebody to install it they find you there and you get the discount for the device and charge $10 to install it. Great product and interesting program for custom rod builders. The kayak fishing guys will probably be all over this one. It goes beyond rod building and into the general fishing market. Will they sell millions of them? I don't know but I can see the potential for this being a really big deal.

Did any one take pictures of the chuck
Post it if you did - Please

Tom
What was it you thought that stood out ??

Bill - willierods.com

It is made from a composite nylon or plastic. Very light and easy to use. You just twist it one direction to open it and the rod butt slips in and when you let go it closes and some elastic banks wrap around the rod butt and create a no slip situation. The ease of putting a rod in or taking it out really impressed me. Self centering. Takes a single second to operate. Blanks can't slip or come out of it. Easier to see than to explain.

I take it you are talking about the chuck Ken
is this only for a dryer or wrapper or can it be used on a lath

Bill - willierods.com

Ken Finch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Got to admit the chuck is a heck of a clever idea
> and will solve a long standing problem for many
> rod builders. But for me the two biggest surprises
> were first the Batson Ent. Eternity blank which
> was WAY lighter for the stiffness than any other
> blank I felt there. Light as a feather but really
> powerful. Beautiful deep blue color too. Second
> but not least was the Boomerang float retrieval
> product. That one will probably save thousands of
> rods all over the world from Davy Jones locker
> every year. That is something that anyone that has
> ever lost a rod overboard will understand. It
> seemed based on the magazine article idea from a
> few years ago but having it self contained in a
> butt cap means you never even know its there until
> you need it. They also have a program aimed at
> custom rod builders where you list on their
> website and then when fishermen want to find
> somebody to install it they find you there and you
> get the discount for the device and charge $10 to
> install it. Great product and interesting program
> for custom rod builders. The kayak fishing guys
> will probably be all over this one. It goes beyond
> rod building and into the general fishing market.
> Will they sell millions of them? I don't know but
> I can see the potential for this being a really
> big deal.

Wait till you get a RainShadow Eterinty2 in your hands and fish it!!

You can put me in line with Ken.
The retrieval butt cap/split grip device is well thought out and best designed answer for overboard rods I've seen to date.

As for the RainShadow Eternity blank I've had one in the shop for a little while, but had not had the chance to build on it until the NC ice storm locked me in last week. Used Batson's graphite split grips, Textouch reel seat, and ALPS guides. Took it to the show for others handle.

Like Ken I am really impressed and share his opinion these blanks. But as some others who had a chance to handle the rod can attest to. The one thing that totally blew me away was not how well I could feel minor vibrations in the blank, but that I could feel them all the way through the seat through the handle to the butt section of the rod when you held it like you would be fishing. Cant say that I have ever felt that before in a rod. Have a tournament in couple of weeks and can hardly wait to feel it in action.

Another item that stood out for me was the new Batson ALPS MVT reel seat. the one made with the Tory graphite in it. I thought it was a bit pricey. But if the way its graphite and hardness transmits vibration through the hand passes on through the blank when installed like I think it will. The end results will be well worth it. I wish I would have had one before I built the Eternity.

Was impressed enough to drop $135.00 at the show for 3 of them for my next builds.

There Were So many new things that where impressive, that I decided Greatest advantage to going to the show was not for all the shopping opportunities, but for the chance to personally handle all the new stuff.
So that I can stay on the cutting edge of improvements and offer these to my clients first.

Instead of having them come to me and say "I held this rod last week that was such and such. can you do this for me?" without looking like an amateur for not knowing what they were talking about, or waiting to play catch up to the builders who attended, or have them go to one of those builders and losing that client.

I don't know how attendance was for this show was , but as for new products this was the best show I've been to since 2004



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2015 07:57PM by Steve Gardner.

One of my favorites was the new air waves coming soon from American tackle. Could very well be the next best guide setup for UL panfish rods.

Attendance was as good as we've ever had. Very nice turnout, again. The weather was a little iffy for small portions of the country here and there, but overall it worked to our advantage, again.

The Boomerang Retrieval device transcends custom rod building, although they're moving through the custom rod builders to get this thing started. The kayak fishing industry has been the sole bright spot for both fishing and boating in North America for the past decade. It's the one area where there has been not only consistent growth, but high percentage growth as well. The only downside is that if you drop a rod in a kayak chances are it's going in the drink. Leashes, pool noodle floats, etc., notwithstanding, this new device ticks all the right boxes. If you saw the live demos they did you know it holds up in any type of weather, can't come loose, won't fail, etc., etc., etc. But if you toss a rod in, you'll get it back. And if you don't toss a rod in, you'll never know it's there. Folks have been working on this type of thing since the mid 1960s and this is the first device to do what needs to be done. These guys are going places.

I would agree that the chuck, the Black Hole USA stuff, etc., were all very noteworthy. And the same can be said for the stuff that more than a few other companies introduced this past weekend as well. I don't want to slight anyone nor miss any of the other outstanding products there, but there were just so many it's tough to do it all in a message board post. I concur that this was far and away the very best Expo in terms of product variety and new technology. No prior event compares.

...........

The boomerang device was the coolest thing there!

Does anyone have a good link to where I might see the Boomerang Retr. Device demo'd? Wasn't able to make the show this year.

They're just now ramping up. Cory has been working on this device for 6 years. He got his first working models the day before the Expo and stayed up all night drilling the entry points in the ends caps so he could have them on Saturday for show demos. So give him a few weeks to get stuff set up and online. Someone may have taken a photo at the Expo and if so hopefully they'll post it up or send you a copy. He said he should have them available for sale in about 5 to 8 weeks.

.................

Let me relate my thoughts on the "triangle chuck"

I think it's a great idea and agree that if it's offered at the right price point they will sell thousands of them. But I think it still needs some design work. Here's my experience with the chuck:

I approached the booth and the guys were demonstrating it to someone else so I stood nearby and watched. When the person in front of me moved on, I stepped up to the counter. Knowing I had heard the spiel and observed the demo, one of the guys behind the counter handed me one of the chuck to examine. I spent about 20-30 seconds examined the exterior of the chuck from all angles at which point the rep encouraged me to "go ahead, give it a turn". The device has a detent - this means you need to pull two sections apart to get them to turn (think of a prescription bottle cap except you pull instead of push). Well, in less than two seconds the chuck fell apart into sections, rubber bands went flying (one was lost and not found) and an internal ball bearing approximately 3/16" in diameter critical to the function of the chuck had fallen to the ground. Luckily, it fell into the mat of some carpeting and was easily recovered.

I do not think I applied unreasonable force, yet the chuck fell apart in my hands. I believe the problem lies in that the orientation of the parts when assembling the chuck is not purposefully aligned away from the axis used during the operation of the chuck. Basically the two major parts of the chuck rotate 120 from each other from fully open to fully closed. The assembly axis should not fall within this area. Because the current model has the assembly axis within this 120 degrees of movement, the chuck can fall apart in your hands. Given that the solution to prevent this from happening should be pretty easy to redesign and incorporate into the end product, I'm giving this a rating of "wait and see".

By the way, the representative observed what happened and I did discuss with him what I felt the cause was, and what might be a likely approach to solve the problem.

I think the best new items at the show were the chuck and the retrieval device. No one has mentioned it yet so I will tell you what I was told at the retrieval booth. That device deploys in 4 seconds. Drop your rod into a pool and see how long it takes to drop 8-10 feet. He said it should deploy from 4-6 feet down. So if the rod lands stuck upright in the mud, that float will already be on the way up. Now I can go out and buy a kayak. I know I won't be losing all my rods on every fishing trip.

Mac

Mr Powell;
I understand your concern with the Chuck. But that may have been a rarity.

I played with that thing for a really long time without experiencing what you did. Could be fluke could be problem not sure? Just saying it was not my experience. I don't remember having to pull anything apart in order to turn it. I simply rotated left or right depending on whether I wanted to open or close it.
You are correct about using 2 hands to work the chuck , but once the chuck is installed on your lathe, drier device, or what ever piece of equipment you choose, that installation should hold the aft part of the chuck so it only takes one hand to operate properly.

Just a thought: if you pulled it apart to turn it, you may have actually cause the malfunction by pulling it apart.

There were four things that stood out in my mind. The first was the Batson Eternity line of blanks (for all the reasons Steve Gardner mentioned in his post above), The other three were the new line of blanks Rodgeeks / St Croix is developing for Billy V, Rodgeeks custom painting of blanks, and the sheer creativity of the AR 15 and geometric eva grip rods from the person who did the lighthouse rod last year.

The second thing that impressed me most was attending the highly informative St. Croix presentation which included blank design and development. Right after the presentation I stopped by their booth located just across the aisle from Rodgeeks. They had each generation of a prototype blank which I had an opportunity to handle. With each blank I would load it and observe the various aspects like power and flex and then would hear an explanation of what they felt needed to be changed. Then I felt the next prototype which incorporated the design changes and was given an explanation of how they achieved it. For example, being a composite rod, they achieved a stiffening in a certain portion of the blank by changing one of the fiberglass layers to graphite, other changes were achieved by altering the shape of one or more layers of material. I honestly found it fascinating, it was the first time I felt I really understood how much work goes into blank design, and how tweaking of a design develops from concept into a finished product. Prototype three was particularly fascinating to me, a fast action that when loaded basically changed into a mod action, unlike anything I had handled before. It wasn't just an overloaded fast action bending further than intended. When this new series of blanks is finally finished, they are going to be really cool blanks. I look forward to building up a few. And with Rodgeeks branding, I can get them custom painted any way I want which leads me to the third most impressive thing, Rodgeeks custom painting.

if you haven't taken a look at Rodgeeks yet you should. Not only are they doing custom colors, they are doing custom multi-colors. What this means to me as a rodbuilder is I can come up with my own custom look that nobody else has which will help me to differentiate and brand my business. When I build on their blanks and go to a show, my rods will immediately stand out from the crowd of factory rods. At the marina, when one of my customers have their rods on display in their boat's rod racks, they will stand out at a distance and likely generate some interest and possible future sales. I basically picked up each color of blank one at a time and held it next to all the other colors and eventually came up with a really nice fade of two complimentary colors. They'll even add a custom pearl coat for me. In 36 years of rodbuilding this is the single most exciting thing i've experienced. I can't wait for them to expand their blank lineup to include the style blanks I use (they tell me that is their next planned series so I am stoked!)

Finally, I'd like to give some recognition to the guy who has built some incredibly detailed theme rods these past couple years. While I do appreciate creativity and attention to detail, I'm not easily impressed by it after all these years, but last year's lighthouse rod and this year's AR 15 theme rods are truly unique and very impressive. His blue EVA split geometric grip rod was like something like M. C. Escher would have made if he ever built a rod grip. I can't imagine the time invested to create those grips. Even the interlocking water waves had an eva border separating them that was less than 1mm in thickness - just mind boggling IMO. I wish I could remember the guy's name to give him some well deserved recognition.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2015 11:40AM by John E Powell.